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Monday, June 20, 2011

Lately I've been doing so many projects. I finally realized I need to just settle down a little bit and remember what it is about knitting that soothes my soul. Yes, part of it is the finished product and seeing the look on the face of a person who slips on a pair of handmade socks or a scarf or sweater. But really just the act of knitting is what I really long for. Sometimes I get caught up in the idea of whipping out as many socks and hats and scarves and even sweaters as I can, that I lose sight of why I love knitting the way I do. The feel of the fiber as it goes through my hands and over my needles, the soft click of the needles as I knit, purl, yarn over, ssk, k2tog....the smell of the wool that can't be duplicated by anything else. I really needed to get back to what first attracted me to this seemingly simple but truly complex hobby. So, I got out a stitch dictionary, and started making up swatches. They aren't going to be anything. I'm just using some old yarn that had been left over from some other project but I couldn't bare to throw away. I'm practicing lace patterns, complex stitch patterns that keep my basic skills sharp and satisfy me endlessly because if I make a mistake, there's no need to rip anything out. I can figure out creative ways to fix accidental increases or dropped stitches. No one is ever going to look at these swatches except for me. After some of this instant gratification, I will go back to the socks and sweaters and shawls on the grand scale, but right now I need these little swatches to help my brain unwind and feel good about my stitches and know that if I'm nothing else, I'm a good momma, and a damn good knitter.

I hate to rub it in, but I do have the most wonderful husband in the entire world. On my birthday, the doorbell rang and there stood a man holding a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of roses. I thought that was plenty, but then I checked my email and there was a gift certificate for Knitpicks.com which is my favorite online store. I love everything about knitpicks! I have never ordered anything and had them disappoint. I felt like a child in a toy store when I went on the site and started imagining what I could buy. I went for a really beautiful stranded colorwork hat in shades of grey and purple that I've had my eye on for awhile. Then I headed over to the felici section. Felici is a beautiful yarn line that knitpicks offers. It's 75% merino wool and 25% nylon and it is self striping. I'm going to make socks with the ball that I got and I can't wait to see how the stripes work up. Right now I have my size 2 needles busy with some socks for Julie made out of Happy Feet, but I'm thinking that maybe I'll go up a size or two anyways since the yarn I got isn't actually sock yarn but it's fingering weight so it should be okay on a larger size. I am seriously giddy at the thought of those stripes. These socks are going to be amazing.

Father's day was really nice. I made a french toast breakfast dish as well as my usual ham and cheese casserole for Dad. He loved the french toast dish so I was thrilled. He also loved the bath and body works shower gel and spray we got him. It took me forever and I pretty much gave myself a headache smelling all the different kinds, but I finally went with my first choice..Twilight Woods. Dad was happy with that and I think Mom will like that one also. I ended up giving my husband his father's day card and gift on Saturday because I was excited. I love giving him presents. He's such a simple guy....really he is not hard to please but he can be hard to buy for because unlike me, he won't just come out and say what he wants. I got him a bag of his favorite candy bars (Snickers) and since he loves Stephan King, I got him the newest book. He was really satisfied with that. The kids and I helped him eat the Snickers, and he enjoyed his book while I sat and knitted and that is how we spent our Saturday.

Then it started to storm. Julie isn't nearly as bothered by thunderstorms as she used to be, but she still needed a reassuring hug and a few extra minutes with Mom before bed. Daniel was so tired from playing at Uncle Larry and Aunt Deb's all day, he was out in no time. I think all the swimming and jumping off the dock finally caught up with my little polly wog, and she was out too. Around midnight, a fire call came in for a down power line. My husband was half way out the door and he just happened to look at the corner of our house and saw a huge pool of water leaking into our basement. Fire call got put on the back burner and he went downstairs to see what kind of damage we were going to have. It really wasn't too bad. We were able to get the majority of the water up with a shop vac and towels, and things are fine. When it flood I always freak out about snakes. It's not like there are tons where we live. My phobia has induced many hours of research on my part. I feel like knowledge is power and the more I know about the things that scare me, the better I should feel....but in most cases it just scares me more. There are about 22 species of snakes in Wisconsin and only 2 of them are venomous. I also read somewhere that snakes don't like the smell of garlic, so I'll be growing garlic and sprinkling garlic powder everywhere.

Rachel Ray is cooking and I'm trying my hardest to learn a thing or two about cooking. If anyone should ever be afraid of anything, it's me in the kitchen. Here's hoping that RR can help me out!